Urban fire disasters are a common but unstudied problem. Nationwide, in 1971, there were 258,000 reported residential fires. In 1973, in New York, 38,218 fires occured in residential buildings. Poor, urban, minority families are especially vulnerable to the disorganizing experiences which follow the destruction of their homes in fires. Their lives provide few supports. This is the first research study which experimentally investigates the effectiveness of a special supportive fire disaster intervention program on randomly selected experimental and control families. whose homes have been destroyed in urban fires. The study will provide basic knowledge about the impact of this experience on families, and what can be done to help them. The effects of the intervention on young children is a special focus of the study. The intervention model, if effective, could be replicated in major cities throughout the country.